Sustainable Swaps for Students

Forget January: when you’re a student, September is the time for New Year’s resolutions. Whether you’re a fresher preparing to leave home for the first time, or a seasoned student returning to uni for another year, the start of term is a new beginning – and the perfect opportunity to make some swaps for a more sustainable lifestyle.

Most students care about the planet. Research conducted last year found that ‘77% of students reported being ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ worried about climate change and its effects.’ And yet, a lot of students create a lot of waste. According to local news sites in university cities including Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester, student neighbourhoods are often polluted by belongings dumped outside properties in June, when term ends and people head home for summer.

With a bit of careful planning, you can stop accumulating stuff you don’t need, do your bit for the planet – and save those all-important pennies.

Seek Out Second-hand Stuff

Moving to university for the first time is exciting, and the temptation to buy a load of new things for your new digs can be real. Do you really need a shiny new 12-piece dinner set to yourself though? Or two sets of fairy lights and a pile of novelty cushions? Before you go on a spree, see what items you already have at home and consider taking them with you, saving not just waste, but money. Download Hazaar, the ‘world’s first preloved student marketplace’ app to seek out second-hand bargains in your new area, and ask if your university has a resell scheme for used textbooks. At the end of term, use Hazaar to sell any unwanted items, rather than chucking them out, or donate them to charity. If you’re in your second or third year and sharing a house with friends, team up to kit out your kitchen – nobody needs six woks, after all.

Go Reusable

Late nights socialising (or studying) and early morning lectures mean one thing: students consume a LOT of coffee – and that often means mountains of disposable coffee cups in the bin. Universities are dealing with this issue in different ways; some charge for disposable cups and others have banned them completely. Many cafes, on and off campus, offer a discount when you order a drink in your own sustainable container. Pack a reusable coffee cup or flask so that you can get your morning cuppa without adding to the problem. Pop a reusable water bottle to your packing list too: take it with you everywhere and fill up on-campus.

Buy in Bulk

Reduce the plastic you use (and the effort of lugging heavy liquids from the shops) by stocking up on your shower and household products in advance. Taking refill bottles of washing up liquid, laundry liquid, shampoo, conditioner and body wash away to uni with you means you’ll never run out of essentials – and will drastically reduce your plastic waste. Simply decant into a smaller bottle for day-to-day use. If you’re sharing accommodation with friends, consider splitting the cost of bulk-buy products for your household. Ready to ditch plastic completely? Consider making the switch to our long-lasting, zero-waste soap, shampoo and conditioner bars.

Forget Fast Fashion

Everyone knows the impact fast fashion can have on the planet and people, but when you’re a student on a budget, the lure of cheap trends can be hard to resist. Avoid being a part of the problem by heading to charity shops to do your clothes shopping (taking a reusable tote bag with you, of course). Or download apps like Vinted and Depop to seek out pre-loved items – again, you’ll save money as well as waste. And when it comes to sorting through your unwanted clothing, you can make some cash by selling it on these apps. If you're the same clothes size as friends and housemates, lend your clothes to each other to avoid buying brand new ones. Remember that one person’s trash is another’s treasure; look out for organised clothes swap events – or set up your own!  

Review Your Food – and Its Packaging

As well as saving animals, eating a vegan diet makes a hugely positive impact on the environment. It’s why many universities take part in Meat Free Mondays, only serving vegetarian or vegan meals for one day a week. And many institutions are taking things a step further by making all catering vegan or vegetarian. Last year, Cambridge University students voted for completely vegan food on-campus, and one year later, their Student Union announced that they’d be going fully plant-based. If you’re not ready to go totally vegan, consider taking part in Meat Free Monday at home. Think about food packaging, too: store cupboard staples like rice, pulses and pasta often form the basis of the student diet – head to a refill store to cut down on plastic packaging. Take a look at our directory of refill stores, or find out if your university has one on-site – many have opened them in recent years.

Take Action

There are so many other ways to reduce your carbon footprint as a student, from buying digital bus tickets to reduce paper waste, to deleting unnecessary emails and thinking before you ‘like’ something on social media. But if you really want to make a difference to the future of the planet, you might want to take more direct action – and university offers plenty of opportunities to do just that. At the freshers’ fair, keep an eye out for eco-focused groups and societies that you might like to join. The Students Organising for Sustainability website is a great starting point for finding out how you can take action for sustainability while you’re at university.